Shooting victim a shadow of the man he used to be

James Altobelli went to work the night of April 16 as one man, but ever since he's completely changed.

That change, according to prosecutors, came at the hands of an 18-year-old Worcester man accused of shooting the Honey Farms clerk in the left eye during a robbery spree.

Now home in North Brookfield after stints at the UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus' intensive care unit and rehabilitation facilities, Mr. Altobelli, 66, is unable to communicate clearly. He lost his left eye and pieces of a bullet remain in his brain.

“Yes he is alive, he is walking and able to get dressed, and that's huge,” Mr. Altobelli's daughter, Kimberly Altobelli said Tuesday. “But he's not the same person. He came back different.”

Called hard-working and a good provider for his children as they grew up, Mr. Altobelli was always laid-back. He doted on his grandchildren.

Mr. Altobelli has also lost hearing in his left ear. He has permanent brain injuries, including aphasia which affects his speech, cognitive memory and decision-making. Mr. Altobelli can utter one or two words, but can't converse or write down what he wants to say.

Mr. Altobelli came home from a rehab facility Saturday. His daughter and son, Ross Altobelli, are at the house helping him and their mother. Another son, John Altobelli, died in August 2012.

Surgeons have rebuilt his eye socket area where a prosthetic eye will be placed. The family said Spaulding Rehabilitation Network in Charlestown took great care of Mr. Altobelli. He will head to Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital in Worcester soon. The family doesn't know if he will ever fully recover.

Workers' compensation is taking care of the medical bills, but along with the physical damage, the shooting brought financial harm as well. Mr. Altobelli doesn't earn what he used to, and there are still car payments, a mortgage and other bills.

Ms. Altobelli, 44, sat in Worcester Superior Court Tuesday as Jaiquan Harris, the 18-year-old city man accused of the shooting, was arraigned.

She recalled the night of April 16. Her mother, Sheila Altobelli, was at her daughter's home in Worcester waiting for the routine nightly phone call from Mr. Altobelli. He always called between 11 p.m. and midnight as he started his shift at the convenience store at 64 Vernon St. The call never came.

“He always calls. I don't understand why he didn't call. That's so weird. That's so strange,” Sheila Altobelli said that night. Maybe he was busy, the family thought. They later learned what had happened was much worse.

Mr. Harris and a co-conspirator not named by prosecutors were allegedly beginning a robbery spree of Honey Farms convenience stores starting April 16. They allegedly stole cash and cigarettes from the Park Avenue Honey Farms on April 16, then tried to rob the Cambridge Street Honey Farms early on April 17, but took off when someone noticed them. The two suspects wore masks and Mr. Harris allegedly had a gun.

Roughly 15 minutes after the attempted robbery, about 12:30 a.m., two teenagers walked into the store where Mr. Altobelli worked. As in the earlier incidents they were masked and Mr. Harris had a gun, authorities said. .

After stealing cash and cigars, the suspects wanted cash from the safe. Mr. Altobelli didn't have access. Video of the attack shows Mr. Altobelli pleading with the assailants, authorities contend.

“The robbery was complete, your honor, and this is all on video,” Assistant District Attorney Terrance Reidy told Judge James R. Lemire. “This defendant was alleged to have taken out his gun, point it in the direction of the clerk, shot the clerk in the face roughly about 5 to 10 feet away, causing significant serious injuries. He will never be the same in speaking with the family.”

Mr. Harris was arraigned in court Tuesday on charges of mayhem, armed assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, armed robbery while masked, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, three counts of conspiracy and weapons charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges from behind a door in the courtroom.

“I really want to know why it escalated. What was upping the ante to shoot?” Ms. Altobelli said after the arraignment. “This kid is not going to own up to anything he did. It's incomprehensible. What kind of person robs, gets what they have and proceeds to shoot someone from 5 feet away?”

As Mr. Altobelli recovered, Worcester police detectives headed to see the family at UMass . They told the family about the arrest. Worcester police officials decried the shooting as senseless.

Mr. Altobelli had been robbed before at the job he held for 30 years. It was a part-time job, something that fit in after working his full-time job at Home Depot in Leominster. Retirement was coming for him in a year or two.

“My father personally had been robbed 19 times. There had been times when it's been knives or weapons,” Ms. Altobelli said. “He didn't talk about it a lot. It was definitely a pattern at that store.”

The area around Vernon Street had changed in the past 10 years. The family hoped the Vernon Street store would have better security or a police detail.

During one attempted robbery, Mr. Altobelli told the robber it wasn't worth it and to leave. The person left the store without robbing it.

“I used to say, 'Dad what are you doing, why are you still up there?' ” Ms. Altobelli said. “He almost felt it wasn't going to happen to him. He almost had a sense they were never going to harm him.”